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-Signs, Portents, and the Weather-
Fauci: US needs to 'significantly ramp up' testing
2020-04-24
[The Hill] The administration's top infectious diseases expert, said Thursday that the United States needs to "significantly ramp up" its testing capacity in order to effectively contain the coronavirus as blunt measures like stay-at-home orders are eased.

"I agree you don't need to test everybody, but you should at least be able to test the people in which you have to test to be able to do containment, and right now I think there's still some gaps there," Fauci said in an interview with Time magazine. "I mean, on paper it might look OK, but we absolutely need to significantly ramp up not only the number of tests, but the capacity to actually perform them."

He noted there are problems with securing supplies needed to conduct the tests as well, such as swabs and chemicals.

"I am not overly confident right now at all that we have what it takes to do that," he said of having robust enough testing. "We're doing better and I think we're going to get there, but we're not there yet."
Posted by:Besoeker

#70  hoist with his own batard
Posted by: Lex   2020-04-24 21:33  

#69   bâtard

He’s a short, stocky baguette? ;-)
Posted by: trailing wife   2020-04-24 20:48  

#68  Require family and friends to take a test prior to entering a retirement home or anyone entering a hospital. Beyond that testing really isn't needed and the ID of identifying badges is silly when they keep saying they don't know if you can re-catch the virus or not.
Posted by: ruprecht   2020-04-24 20:45  

#67  13th Warrior: "At least I knew who my Father and Mother were"
Posted by: Frank G   2020-04-24 18:13  

#66  Issue of bastardy. Gawd the spelchek sucks worms.
Posted by: M. Murcek   2020-04-24 17:41  

#65  Well, you may not have been an issue of bastard, but you still might be a bastard, bastich, bâtard, etc.
Posted by: M. Murcek   2020-04-24 17:40  

#64  You're probably right, MM.
That approach is all we can do; proby not secure enough.
Posted by: Lex   2020-04-24 17:39  

#63  And I misspelled "aver." Doesn't invalidate what I said.
Posted by: M. Murcek   2020-04-24 17:37  

#62   BLUF: I wasn't adopted or a bastard

However opinions may vary :-)
Posted by: Frank G   2020-04-24 17:33  

#61  Ancestry ID Test: yeah, I did it. Birthday gift. Mom and sister already had done it, so they had mine anyway. BLUF: I wasn't adopted or a bastard
Posted by: Frank G   2020-04-24 17:32  

#60  Anyone who believes the data will be handled in the fashion described above, I don't want to say anything nasty about you, but I will not be accepting any brown thing you avver is "chocolate ice cream."
Posted by: M. Murcek   2020-04-24 17:32  

#59  *so individuals cannot be identified
Posted by: Lex   2020-04-24 16:57  

#58  ^ this. Hash the IDs, anonymize the data, and aggregate at a county level so individual can be identified. Store the hashing keys separately from the data.
Posted by: Lex   2020-04-24 16:56  

#57  Pretty simple solution: test locally, with primary care keeping the information between the physician and the patient, and then require the all reporting anonymize the results, then aggregate it at the county, state and federal level. Reporting up the chain is already done for a lot of other disease diagnoses to track prevalence, not people.

All it takes is a "rule" on the fed side (the President can probably do it with "A pen and a Phone"), or Congress to pass a law adding "privacy" penalties for this.
Posted by: Marilyn Tojo7566   2020-04-24 16:47  

#56  The testing is needed, if for no other reason than to show how widespread this is. Until we have that number, the data is incomplete, and the government can continue to use it to justify bad decisions.

If initial testing is any indication, the reported cases people are basing all the percentages off of may be an order of magnitude below the actual cases. And this would show just how the lockdown was a massive overreaction.
Posted by: Marilyn Tojo7566   2020-04-24 16:46  

#55  Of course, some people thing it's tasteless that I am more concerned with what the demonstrably corrupt USGOV is up to than I am with this week's episode of the Knesset soap opera. And I fucking dare you to call me an anti-semite, you...
Posted by: M. Murcek   2020-04-24 14:39  

#54  ^ This guy gets it. I have no doubts he "gets out enough."
Posted by: M. Murcek   2020-04-24 14:31  

#53  You mean like those ancestry tests who sold the information to third parties?

Or the doctors who can ask you about whether you have certain person possessions deemed unnecessary by the State, firearms in particular, and decide whether you are ok to have them or not?

Or can give my underage child hormones or abortion pills without my knowledge or consent?

Or can, based entirely on a one-to-one discussion with a child, sic child protective services onto parents who must prove their innocence to retrieve their child?

These are all things, right now, no tin hat necessary.
Posted by: swksvolFF   2020-04-24 14:09  

#52  Never mind. I looked it up.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike   2020-04-24 13:42  

#51  BP? Black Plague?
Posted by: Whiskey Mike   2020-04-24 13:40  

#50  But I have no magic numbers or pretty graphs to share from that experience. Because I was on Minoxidil (oral) for BP back then, I couldn't even give myself a bald spot, not for lack of trying.
Posted by: M. Murcek   2020-04-24 13:07  

#49  I was a HIPAA Security Officer at a medical practice and also worked with a practice management system developer 1996-2011. I actually was involved with practice management software from 1983 on, so I watched HIPAA get promulgated, instituted, implemented and crash and burn.
Posted by: M. Murcek   2020-04-24 13:05  

#48  😁
Posted by: Lex   2020-04-24 12:59  

#47  Maybe you will show up in Health Court, telling them some illegal stole your SSN. Of course, it will be up to you to prove that.
Posted by: M. Murcek   2020-04-24 12:56  

#46  The term for the information in question is PHI - Patient Health Information. Your identity is part of each of those PHI records because they are about - you guessed it - a specific patient. Now, how do they identify you specifically? Can you say Social Security Number? I knew ya could...
Posted by: M. Murcek   2020-04-24 12:55  

#45  Doctor-patient confidentiality? I hope it still exists.

Bwahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaaaaaaa!!!

Recently several big hospital chains were sending HIPAA regulated information to gurgle. Abstracted and anonymized, of course. Strictly for testing data formats, of course. You can bet cramazon and micro$soft, oracle, fartbook, et. al. got some too. Just to help us all out, make us healthier, dontcha know. Yeah, some people maybe don't get out enough. OTOH, some people believe the entire Universe exists inside their head and it's all on the Up And Up.

Yeah. Right-e-oh...
Posted by: M. Murcek   2020-04-24 12:50  

#44  Speaking of TSA swabbing; I use my briefcase as my shooting bag; dual purpose. I make sure no brass or mags remain (except for that one time, dammit) but the powder residue dominates, and they go nuts. I am told I have an odd sense of humor.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike   2020-04-24 12:38  

#43  Skid, you need to get out more.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru   2020-04-24 12:28  

#42  once it's tested for the virus - it's not build to test for anything else.

Perhaps the test residual, but when the DNA is collected it may be tested for many things.
Posted by: Skidmark   2020-04-24 12:27  

#41  Promises, promises! (/sarc)

Yes, imagine the staff required to deal with said samples with they were to be somehow retained or forwarded...not practical.

I sure miss a doctor I had not too long ago...made house calls and carried a Gladstone bag like days of yore. If you needed to give a blood sample, HE took the blood, and some lab came and picked it up. Old school and damn good.
Posted by: Clem   2020-04-24 12:26  

#40  Doctor-patient confidentiality? I hope it still exists.

HIPAA 'inspired', de-identification schemes are in place for bulk uploads to the national EHR repositories...
Posted by: Skidmark   2020-04-24 12:22  

#39  And your doc does all the tests him/herself - never sends anything to a lab.

p.s. If you're ever tested, you'll find out that the tests come with promise of medical confidentiality, and that the sample will be destroyed (you think they keep them around to spread infection?), once it's tested for the virus - it's not build to test for anything else.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru   2020-04-24 12:20  

#38  So, will America go the route of Europe (and other places?) where you get a sick slip from the doctor and stay home with pay?

This nonsense of telling people to "stay home" voluntarily if they have the sniffles is easier said than done.
Posted by: Clem   2020-04-24 12:18  

#37  Is he going to put the position up that if you have not had the virus you need to stay in quarantine?

Now that, my friend, is already happening.
What we're seeing is a surge in remote employee 'self reporting' required by HR. "How do you feel?", "Did you have trouble breathing this morning?", "What is your temperature?" are the general themes of the Covid inquiries...

If you don't report, you don't go to work.
If you are getting 'a temperature', you don't go to work. Other positive Covid symptoms, go to a doctor, but don't go to work.

Less emphasis on those employees that have anti-bodies, more for those unexposed.
Posted by: Skidmark   2020-04-24 12:15  

#36  Family doc probably wasn't caught up in COVID-19 hysteria at the time.

Doctor-patient confidentiality? I hope it still exists.
Posted by: Clem   2020-04-24 12:08  

#35  And it's different from samples your family doc collects from you, how?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru   2020-04-24 12:04  

#34  a foaming at the mouth conspiracy nut, Skid

TSA swabs travel luggage handles with a reagent.
Sometimes for drugs, sometimes for explosives.

Imagine what they can get when they sample what one has been breathing.
/foaming off
Posted by: Skidmark   2020-04-24 12:03  

#33  But the DNA issue is a fair question to be asked. What will be done with swab contents? Where will it go (if it goes somewhere)?
A bit different, but it reminds me of those suckers who sent in samples to ancestry DOT com only to find out the ancestry toads were giving DNA info to the authorities. Probably something in the fine print. They can kiss my dupa.
Posted by: Clem   2020-04-24 12:00  

#32  I'm reminded of the 'sudden' TSA 2oz liquid container rule for flyers derived from intel about the making of binary bathtub explosives.

I imagine some of the Fauci delay can be attributed to exploitation of the incredible value 'test' data being collected.
Posted by: Skidmark   2020-04-24 11:56  

#31  If it looks ripe for abuse, it will be abused. Just don't expect magic number / generic graph worshippers to understand that.
Posted by: M. Murcek   2020-04-24 11:55  

#30  That mention of "voluntary DNA sample" makes you a foaming at the mouth conspiracy nut, Skid - to some people. Not to me...
Posted by: M. Murcek   2020-04-24 11:52  

#29  its just useless data.

It's a 'cotton' swab up your nose for exposure, or blood, for anti-bodies.

COVID-19 tests: how they work and what’s in development

In both cases sample artifacts along with the donor's DNA are voluntarily surrendered.
Posted by: Skidmark   2020-04-24 11:50  

#28  Will you have to show ID to get tested? Heh heh
Posted by: Frank G   2020-04-24 11:47  

#27  I still don't understand why he is trying to focus us on testing before going back to work. Is he going to put the position up that if you have not had the virus you need to stay in quarantine? That those without antibodies MUST take the vaccine before working? That our society must divide, yet again? From a data point of view the testing is good. From a causing panic and confusion this data will be gold. From a national perspective of reigniting out economy, returning to a life under a constitution its not good, its just useless data.
Posted by: 49 Pan   2020-04-24 11:12  

#26  NY didn't follow the plan anyway. They gathered way later than they should have, kept subways running but cut the number of cars to ensure everyone packed together, and didn't institute masks until a week ago. They basically followed the Swedish plan through incompetent local government.

The rest of the US shut down out of terror because the Media was in NY and wetting themselves and made it seem as if NY was following the plan and still things were a nightmare.

When the dust settles De Blasio and Cuomo will be known as the guys that crippled the US and led to GOP electoral dominance for years to come.
Posted by: rjschwarz   2020-04-24 10:46  

#25  Well, there's a move afoot to decriminalize knowingly transmitting HIV by concealing your infection status. That's being done at the behest of a favored group, however...
Posted by: M. Murcek   2020-04-24 09:31  

#24  Just like there is a different flu vaccine every year, there will be a different test every year. Count on it.
Posted by: M. Murcek   2020-04-24 09:24  

#23  How accurate are the tests?
Posted by: Lex   2020-04-24 09:10  

#22  Goal posts will be moved again until morale is nonexistent.
Posted by: M. Murcek   2020-04-24 09:07  

#21  We are in the process of significantly ramping up testing. Next complaint?
Posted by: trailing wife   2020-04-24 09:06  

#20  Will muzz in America be exempt because cultural sensitivity raycism?
Posted by: M. Murcek   2020-04-24 08:59  

#19  /\ Excellent idea. The Burg is a virtual idea machine. We should be in 'open enrollment' right now !
Posted by: Besoeker   2020-04-24 08:57  

#18  Just think. They can have a 'testing enrollment window" just like Obamacare. If you don't catch the wave you be SOL for a year.
Posted by: M. Murcek   2020-04-24 08:54  

#17  Insurance agent: "Well, sir, we have reviewed your application for [health/life] insurance. Tell me, have you had COVID-19? Have you been innoculated? Can you prove it?"

Sad sap: "Well, uh, I've never been sick a day in my life, so I...."

Insurance agent: "We thank you for your interest in XYX Insurance. Have a wonderful day."
Posted by: Clem   2020-04-24 08:41  

#16  a CV immunity card

AKA "License to have a life."
Posted by: M. Murcek   2020-04-24 08:37  

#15  #12 ID = Social Credit? Poor me, I live in a totalitarian country. When I vote, I've to show ID twice: entering the polling station (usually a school) and before receiving an envelope for the vote.
On the other hand, I've been carded several times while buying alcohol in USA - at my mid-thirties.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru   2020-04-24 08:35  

#14  LCD green light Clem. Red LCD blinking....STF away. Not available at Amazon.

g(r)om for more details.
Posted by: Besoeker   2020-04-24 08:35  

#13  So, will testing go on in perpetuity? Will there ever be "enough" testing?
Posted by: Clem   2020-04-24 08:30  

#12  Ahhh, urright. Well, how about free polling station 'on-site' CV blood testing, OJ and sammiches. Or am I grasping at straws ?
Posted by: Besoeker   2020-04-24 08:25  

#11  Slippery slope to Social Credit?? Nein danke
Posted by: Lex   2020-04-24 08:19  

#10  /\ Think of it though, a CV immunity card which could also be used as proof of citizenship and registration at the voting booth.
Posted by: Besoeker   2020-04-24 08:17  

#9  ifsome sort of "proof of having been tested" will be necessary, it's been noted that forged versions of such documents will be available as soon as the forgers know what they look like.

Identity Theft, meet Immunity Theft.
Posted by: Lex   2020-04-24 08:13  

#8  what if it ends up that the virus is very communicable but ultimately not particularly lethal?

Same thing that always happens to our grifting gummint functionaries. Nothing.
Posted by: M. Murcek   2020-04-24 07:59  

#7  more testing will mean revealing that a greater number of the population has been exposed and already fought it off. either being asymptomatic or thinking the symptoms were something else.

that sure will 'bend the curve'. especially the mortality curve. what if it ends up that the virus is very communicable but ultimately not particularly lethal?
Posted by: Bob Grorong1136   2020-04-24 07:28  

#6  Uh, isn't that Fauci's job to implement?
Posted by: Phusotle Dingle5823   2020-04-24 07:01  

#5  B raises important points. As has been mentioned before, if some sort of "proof of having been tested" will be necessary, it's been noted that forged versions of such documents will be available as soon as the forgers know what they look like. And the "selective enforcement" mentioned will be messy and bad optics at best. And then there's this.
Posted by: M. Murcek   2020-04-24 06:23  

#4  p.s. I do agree that, if you hadn't have Trump, you'd be dying like Swedes right now - the key term in "herd immunity" is "herd".
Posted by: g(r)omgoru   2020-04-24 04:43  

#3  I agree you don't need to test everybody
Posted by: g(r)omgoru   2020-04-24 04:34  

#2  So, correct me if I am wrong, but 'testing' should require a degree of universal (meaning - ya'll get tested), documentation, and follow-up action. If testing is refused or testing follow-up action is rejected, then do we refer to follow-up action as.... 'selective enforcement?'
Posted by: Besoeker   2020-04-24 04:32  

#1  Obviously an evil totalitarian plot!
Posted by: g(r)omgoru   2020-04-24 04:16  

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